Since Lionel Messi went down with an injury in September (he's back now), Neymar has been a miracle worker.
He performed one more miracle Monday, but not for Barcelona. The 23-year-old was selected as one of the final three players competing to win the 2015 Ballon d'Or, and his selection made a big difference for his hometown club in Brazil, Santos.
The 2015 Ballon d'Or finalists have been announced, and the three chosen come as a surprise to approximately nobody.
The nominees, in case you live in a hole, or under a rock, or in a hole located under a rock, are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.
A much more interesting question than who would get nominated (we guess Luis Suarez had an outside chance at Neymar's third spot, but come on) is who will win. Will Lionel Messi receive his fourth, Ronaldo his third or Neymar his first? We break it down.
Neymar's astounding string of performances has managed to get him in the mix to be one of the top players in the world. Nonetheless, off-the-field issues keep the superstar's future very murky.
Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi. It seems like the soccer world has debated these two for a millennia. It’s no surprise, to be sure, with the two playing for storied and rival clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. However, the rivalry also extends toward sports marketing – and the heavyweights in soccer, Nike and adidas.
It's a question posed to any footballer who succeeds in the relative atmospheric comforts of Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1: "but could he do it on a cold Wednesday night at Stoke?" The implication being that in the cold of England in winter, players from lesser footballing areas like the Mediterranean and South America would wilt like the dead flowers they are. It is a perfect example of (false) Premier League exceptionalism.
FC Barcelona stars participated in a FIFA 16 tournament and the resulting video is comedy gold. Claudio Bravo, Arda Turan and Dani Alves faced off against Neymar Jr., Jordi Alba and Marc-André ter Stegen in a winner-takes-all matchup.
Who’d the Barcelona players choose to play as? Well, themselves, naturally. With Neymar’s team sporting Barca’s away kits and the Alves squad in the traditional Blaugrana home shirts, the stage was set for a mini half-Clasico on FIFA 16.
According to former best player in the world Ronaldinho, the best player in the world on current form isn't Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
No, Ronaldinho told English newspaper The Daily Mirror that his pick for best player in the world right now is fellow Brazilian international Neymar.
"Neymar, currently on form, is the best player in the world," Ronaldinho said.
It’s not surprising that Neymar was a standout soccer player his entire life. It’s expected. He’s one of the best players in the world right now. That doesn’t just happen overnight. That, however, doesn’t make it any less impressive to see Neymar playing in Brazil age of 14, running around with professionals, including the likes of Robinho and Romario, and fitting in. Sure, the video below is of a charity match, and because of that I can guarantee none of the professional footballers in it are trying hard, but Neymar’s skill is still evident.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing Neymar get embarrassed by someone, anyone. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s usually the one doing the embarrassing, and that he’s getting so good at it that it’s scary, and that makes it satisfying to see the tables turn. It reminds people that he’s not superhuman, just really-really-good-human. Neymar gets embarrassed by freestyler Sean Garnier in the vine below, and it’s petty, but no one ever said petty couldn’t be satisfying.
There is no doubt that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still the top two soccer players in the world today. However, after scoring another goal that will pass into legend, Neymar has fans everywhere wondering how much longer until he catches up to those two.
Some radicals, like legendary Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos, already claim that Neymar is the better of the three.